Oil majors give FTSE a boost, Next shines

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s top share index edged up on Tuesday thanks to a surge in oil majors as crude prices hit a four-year high, while retailer Next stole the spotlight after a strong update confounded expectations.

FILE PHOTO: A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

The FTSE 100 ended up 0.66 percent, with energy stocks and miners contributing the most to the rise.

Next (NXT.L) shares jumped 7.7 percent to the top of the FTSE 100 after it raised its full-year profit forecast and struck an optimistic tone on a no-deal Brexit, saying it is well prepared for the eventuality.

“It is still too early to measure whether Next is gaining share as a result of retrenchment by other mid-market apparel retailers, although we expect this to be a growing feature in the medium term,” said UBS analysts.

“At the end of the day what you need is earnings growth as the driver of market returns,” said Mark Hargraves, head of global strategies at AXA Investment Managers.

“What you would really need in order to dislocate things would be earnings to come down by 20 or 25 percent, and for that you need the economy to hit a proper speedbump. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to see that right now.”

There were some sharp moves in the mid and small-cap space.

Shares in Thomas Cook (TCG.L) bounced back, up 6.8 percent, having fallen as much as 23 percent on Monday after a profit warning.

Among small-caps, CMC Markets (CMCX.L) shares fell sharply, down 10.9 percent, after the spreadbetting group said low market volatility and regulatory constraints had weighed on client trading activity, reducing its 2019 income more than previously expected.

Morgan Stanley analysts said they expected a more than 20 percent downgrade to consensus 2019 profit.

“Beyond full-year 2019, the lower start point and regulatory uncertainty we expect will drive further downgrades and caution,” they wrote.